Morning Report for Thursday 22 November 2018

6:00 AM.A fatal car crash has sparked a slew of unanswered questions about the safety of warrants of fitness, Middlemore Hospital has been given 80 million dollars but it won't fix all its rotting buildings… Read more Audio

6:06 AM.American tennis star Venus Williams has settled a wrongful death suit related to a fatal traffic accident she was involved in near her Florida home in June 2017. Audio

6:10 AM.A Dargaville mechanic who sent his cars to a now suspended garage for warrants of fitness inspections says people are justified in feeling anxious about whether their cars are truly safe. Dargaville… Read more Audio

6:12 AM.A former coach says the Wellington Rugby Union has no respect for its women's rugby programme. Dave Jensen coached the top Wellington Women's rugby team, Pride, for three seasons up until last year… Read more Audio

6:14 AM.Westland's mayor is confident an upgrade of Franz Josef's sewage ponds will be done in time to meet a deadline imposed by the Environment Court. The ponds are at the centre of a Serious Fraud Office… Read more Audio

6:20 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

6:22 AM.News from the rural and farming sector. Audio

6:40 AM.Middlemore Hospital's latest cash injection won't fix all its rotting buildings and it pales into comparison with what other district health boards in Auckland have got. Yesterday the government… Read more Audio

6:45 AM.Principals are worried New Zealand could become a dumping ground for foreign teachers who can't get jobs in their own countries. They're urging caution over the thousands of teachers who have… Read more Audio

6:49 AM.News from the business sector, including a market report. Audio

7:06 AM.A first defeat to Italy would be a catastrophic end to the season for the All Blacks, but the selectors are still set to make plenty of changes for this weekend's test in Rome. Audio

7:10 AM.A fatal car crash has sparked a slew of unanswered questions about the safety of car warrants of fitness. This after the Transport Agency stood by and let a Dargaville garage keep on issuing warrants… Read more Audio

7:15 AM.Middlemore Hospital says it has done well from a government funding boost of $80 million, despite the Counties Manukau District Health Board estimating a year ago it needed more than $1.6 billion to… Read more Audio

7:25 AM.Heavy rain in Otago overnight hasn't resulted in any more flooding in the region and river levels are continuing to drop. However it could be weeks until the water from this week's flooding drains… Read more Audio

7:28 AM.Dentists say they've noticed a big increase in hotly debated tongue-tie surgery in babies and it's worrying. A Wellington anaesthetist, Graham Sharpe, is calling for urgent action over the surgery… Read more Audio

7:35 AM.A founder of the Auckland Pride Parade says it's been hi-jacked by a small group and years of hard work building tolerance risks going down the drain. The parade board's decision to ban police from… Read more Audio

7:45 AM.A sweeping plan to clean up and protect the Hauraki Gulf that's languished in a drawer for two years is being dusted off and will be put into action. The Conservation Minister, Eugenie Sage, is set to… Read more Audio

7:47 AM.A British private equity firm has put a $2.5 billion value on auction site Trade Me. Apax Partners is drawing up a bid to buy the site, and is expected to confirm its formal offer in a few weeks… Read more Audio

7:55 AM.Midwives employed by hospitals are launching industrial action today after a last-ditch bid to solve a long-running pay dispute failed. The midwives will walk off the job for two hours, twice a day… Read more Audio

8:06 AM.Jamie Whincup says he will do whatever he can to help New Zealand driver and teammate Shane van Gisbergen win the Australian Supercars championship this weekend, including using controversial team… Read more Audio

8:10 AM.A Far North iwi says it's disappointed the Deparment of Conservation's joined a court challenge to plans for peat-mining on wetlands north of Kaitaia. Ngai Takoto says the legal action is a waste of… Read more Audio

8:15 AM.The Transport Agency has admitted knowing since 2011 that a Dargaville mechanic was issuing warrants without doing crucial checks. A passenger in one of the cars died when his frayed seatbelt failed… Read more Audio

8:26 AM.An inquiry into an SAS raid in Afghanistan that according to the book Hit and Run led to civilian deaths has begun in Wellington with a preliminary hearing. It's being conducted by the former Supreme… Read more Audio

8:30 AM.A brief update of movements in the financial sector. Audio

8:35 AM.The roads in and out of the flood-hit township of Henley will be closed for up to three more days, as the water recedes. Otago and Southland has been drenched by heavy rain this week - although the… Read more Audio

8:43 AM."I stabbed him...run." The High Court in Napier has been told those are the words 14-year-old Haami Hanara uttered to a witness, immediately after they got into a fight with a homeless man. The… Read more Audio

8:47 AM.Unemployment is at a ten-year low - 3.9 percent across New Zealand. In Ashburton the unemployment rate is even lower, just under two percent don't have jobs. It might sound like good news for the… Read more Audio

8:50 AM.The Black Ferns' successes on the world stage have shone a light on women's rugby, but at grass roots level the game is still living in the shadows. Coaches say there's still a long way to go before… Read more Audio

8:55 AM.A decision by Sir David Attenborough's BBC film crew to intervene to save a group of penguins trapped in a ravine has sparked a heated debate among wildlife documentary makers. Some have complained it… Read more Audio